LIVE: It’s time for the Braves (or is that the Black Knight?)
Do Omar Infante and the Braves have enough healthy bodies left to win the wild card? (AP photo)
Welcome back to Turner Field for a game involving what remains of your Atlanta Braves.
To all of the injury issues the team has had in the season — not the least of which were losing Chipper Jones and pitcher Kris Medlen for the year and pitchers Jair Jurrjens and Takashi Saito for extended periods, we add this: Martin Prado is “definitely going to be out for a while” with a hip-pointer, manager Bobby Cox said after Monday’s game.
The biggest problem with that: There’s not “a while” left in the season. In fact, there are more letters in “a while” (six) than there are games left on the Braves’ schedule (five).
Prado might be toast, but the Braves aren’t, yet. They enter tonight’s game against Florida with a one-half game lead over San Diego and 4 1/2 over all-but-dead Colorado in the National League wild card race.
Prado is having an MRI and was not available for comment before the game. Cox said he was “feeling better” today. But, even though we’re talking about one of the toughest players on the team, it would be surprising to see him back in the lineup this season. A hip-pointer is an extremely painful injury, one that prevents a player from pivoting — which eliminates pretty much every movement in a baseball game (fielding, throwing, hitting).
How are the Braves still here? They’re like Monty Python’s “Black Knight,” who kept fighting on despite severed limbs. (”It’s only a flesh wound!” … I am invincible! The Black Knight always triumphs!”)
In fact, since everybody can use a laugh these days . . .
On a related note, the “Black Knight” is batting third and playing center field for the Braves tonight.
OK, seriously. The lineup includes these changes: Catcher Brian McCann is batting third to replace Prado; the struggling Melky Cabrera (hitting only .229 with one homer in his last 49 games) is hitting fifth; Brooks Conrad starts at third base and hits seventh.
Pitching tonight on only three days rest (in place of the injured Jurrjens) is Tim Hudson. He’s only 1-4 with a 6.10 earned run average in five September starts after going 6-0 with a 1.43 ERA in his previous eight outings. One positive omen: Hudson has pitched on three days rest three times before in the regular season, going 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA.
That’s it for now. I’ll be back to live blog at game time. Can the Braves hang on?
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636 comments Add your comment
Black Knight
September 28th, 2010
8:56 pm
McCann at laying homeplate = Biggest Loser Contestant after a 1/4 mile walk.
Jud
September 28th, 2010
8:56 pm
McCann looked like my 65 year old dad running
rugburn
September 28th, 2010
8:56 pm
you know that your no. 5 hitter is no good if you send mccann there. zero confidence in melky. of course melky will get a hit leading off next inning
Bye Bye Bobby
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
jack bull. Be careful you may make naboo mad.
mt
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
Are we that desperate for runs that we send our slowest runner? What a brain dead move by a clearly delusional third base coach.
Jesse Stone
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
Black Knight- I laughed
Jeff Schultz
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
OK, bang on Snitker. I know it’s McCann and I know he’s slow but I guess I’m in the minority cuz I don’t have a huge problem with it. Have to try to score in 1-0 game (especially with Melky coming up next). OK, let me have it.
jbones in PCB
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
Why, why, why to send the runner especially McCann!!!
Black Knight
September 28th, 2010
8:57 pm
Chip and Joe – THere is a difference between aggressive baseball “forcing the action” and being just stupid.
Naboo the Enigma
September 28th, 2010
8:58 pm
Your posts are boring ya douche. Go pop another Budweiser…
jack bull
September 28th, 2010
8:58 pm
at least go in bowling over the catcher!! don’t swat at the mitt, panzy!!
E-6
September 28th, 2010
8:58 pm
Snitker should be fired tonight. Incredibly stupid decision.
Jesse Stone
September 28th, 2010
8:58 pm
Jeff- I would tend to agree, but Uggla had the ball as he was rounding 3rd. That’s a bad call by Snit
Black Knight
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
JS – If it were anybody else runnning I would be right with you. Honestly. But there was no chance there with any kind of accurate throw let alone Stanton’s Cannon to the cutoff man.
bobbycoxcountdown: 5
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
Rufino- you are an idiot. I gave you several names that all have produced at least one championship in the last 10 years. You pick Charlie Manuel to come back at me with when you said not 1 manager could do a better job?
I don’t like the Phillies make no mistake. But he held his team together this year with a ton of injuries and no bullpen. His team doesn’t squeeze the bat so hard that they couldn’t produce more than 2 runs when it counts… Hellz yeah i would take Charlie over Lord Bobby. He’s the 2008 and most likely this year’s manager of the year, you fool!
This just in, just because you say something doesn’t make it true. I proved you wrong and you proved yourself wrong with your Charlie Manuel comment.
MWC
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
If McCann got into a race with a pregnant lady he’d come in third.
Bye Bye Bobby
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
I’m with Snitker. How many times this year has he held a runner at 3rd only for this no-hitting bunch to leave him there.
Pete
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
More angry at McCann for being that fat and out of shape. You tend to do stupid things when you have a 5 hole hitter with 500 at bats and 40 RBI
Billy
September 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
Ok Jeff…Your opinion is ok..Maybe a little truth there.
rugburn
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
upon further review, stanton could’ve run the ball to home plate and been waiting for brian
My O My
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
what happened to this team and all that hitting this summer
nick ru
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
booby going out just like the loser nose picker beater he is
ijudgenot
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
McCann has to be the slowest runner in all of baseball and that is not an exageration.
jl
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
Holy Crap, was that Bobby Cox rounding third or Brian McFann??
Mad as H@## Fan
September 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
Why is Melky playing and why oh why have we not seen Henski? Where is he — in the dog house because he caught Bobby picking his nose — well everyone catches that stubborn goat picking his nose. I am so mad I think I am tearing up the 4 club level tickets I have for Friday night.
jack bull
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
jeff, i HATE to say it, but i have to agree with ya..desperate, yes…but the chance of getting another hit, not very good…
Mark in mid-town
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
I’m all for being aggressive, but sending McCann was absurd. He was out by 35 feet even with the cutoff man double-clutching on the throw home.
Robbie
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
Will Melky know how to stand at the plate?
Will someone go with him to help him turn the right way?
Little League!!!!
Jesse Stone
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
Melky has hit Sanchez well and has a hit tonight
mt
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
Ok Jeff how about after 157 games you should probably have a good bead on McCann’s lack of speed. The percentages probably are higher for Melky getting a hit than Brian scoring there.
Ray
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
Jeff
The problem is a run can score so many ways from third. No need to go into them all.
If it was any other player, I agree. Mccann is slower than 285 rush hour traffic
walk
September 28th, 2010
9:01 pm
heart of the lineup
jl
September 28th, 2010
9:02 pm
WoW Joe Simpson, we are still losing!
Jay
September 28th, 2010
9:02 pm
watch melky will get a hit
bobbycoxcountdown: 5
September 28th, 2010
9:02 pm
Has Brian McCann been thrown out at 2nd base this year?
cause if so, he will have completed the cycle for the year…
(thrown out at 1B, 2B, 3B & home! all by more than 5 feet?) lol
Billy
September 28th, 2010
9:03 pm
Everyone hates Milky even Joe and Chip but Bobby and Wren must like him. Why does media hit on Milky but take up for other sorry player.
My O My
September 28th, 2010
9:03 pm
come on Jeff, they could have rolled the ball to the plate and got mcCann out
Jesse Stone
September 28th, 2010
9:04 pm
Not many choices in the OF. Like choosing to ask either Rosie O’Donnell or “insert ugly and annoying girl here” to the prom. Going stag and playing with one outfielder is not an option
rugburn
September 28th, 2010
9:04 pm
the only reason that it was as close as it was at the plate is because even uggla didn’t think we were that stupid. ..he was about to throw to third to try to get brian
My O My
September 28th, 2010
9:05 pm
there are some fatty mcbutterpants on this team
Jay
September 28th, 2010
9:05 pm
whoever caught the ball for the marlins, 1st or 2nd baseman, turned and wasn’t even going to throw home not expecting mccann to run so he paused. if he threw when he caught the ball mccann would have been out by 12 feet.
jbones in PCB
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
ok course he would get a hit…
Jay
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
told you he would get a hit!
Naboo the Enigma
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
Bwaahahaha, Melky- base ht
Jason
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
I agree with the call to send him also – what are the chances of Melky getting a hit? Maybe 1 in 5 – what were the chances of McCann scoring on that play – maybe 1 in 4. Of course he got the hit to lead off – just as predicted.
Mad as H@## Fan
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
He always gets a hit when no one is on base. It would not have happened last inning.
Jesse Stone
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
there we go. 2 hits for Melky. good call Bobby
Billy
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
Joe and Chip has repeated Milky turning the wrong way 20 time amd blame him for 1 run. But last week J-Hey screwed up in rf but they made excuses for J-Hey.
Jeff Schultz
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
To all: 2 outs, down 1-0, Melky Cabrera and general yech lineup that follows. You have to make the Marlins make the throw. For the record, I just checked with a soon-to-be Hall of Fame pitcher in pressbox and he agreed.
jbones in PCB
September 28th, 2010
9:06 pm
What… fundamental baseball?